A Sacrifice for Understanding.

Chapter 2

"What are you guys doing here?" Lance asked, his voice slightly deeper than they remembered, laced with an edge of irritation.

There was no mistaking him—his tanned skin, tousled brown hair, and those unmistakable ocean-blue eyes.

Keith stepped forward, his tone steady but wary. "We picked up a distress signal. Once we realized it might be you, we came to investigate. Now that we've found you, we can finally get back to our duties."

A grim smile flickered across Lance's face, his expression unreadable. "Well, it's good to see you guys again," he said, his words carrying a hint of sarcasm.

Allura and Keith lingered at a distance as the others rushed to embrace him, tears streaming down their faces. Lance stood stiffly for a moment before letting out a quiet laugh, one that only seemed to irritate Allura further.

"Do you think this is funny?" she snapped, her voice cutting through the moment. "You should have been fighting alongside us, helping to end Zarkon's reign. Instead, you vanished without a trace. We thought you were dead, Lance. Dead. When I saw the distress signal, I dared to believe you might have grown, matured even—but clearly, I was wrong. I should have known better than to waste our time coming here."

Her words hung in the air, sharp and stinging. The paladins stared at her in stunned silence, but Lance's expression didn't falter.

He exhaled slowly, his smile fading into something closer to a grimace. "I'm sorry if I've been an inconvenience to your mission," he said evenly, though the edge in his voice was unmistakable.

Shifting the firewood in his arms, he brushed past them. "But if you're here to drag me back... don't bother. I'm not going anywhere."

The weight of his words settled heavily over the group. Lance turned back briefly, his gaze scanning their faces before a slight frown crept in. Something—or someone—was missing.

Before he could voice his thoughts, Allura broke the silence. "Lance, since you've been gone, Shiro has gone missing too. We were lucky to intercept the distress signal when we did. Zarkon is weakening—this is our chance to strike. With Voltron reunited, we can finally free the universe from his grip."